Baaul: A Change of Heart

Chapter 23: The Aluminum Clad Knight

Renee jolted up, her heart racing as she remembered Baaul falling one his face. Steve had followed him from the rehab center and shot Baaul with what Renee recognized as tranquilizer. The darts stuck out of his skin like metal quills. She had been horrified to watch her lover fall and when Steve wouldn’t listen to her about Baaul not being dangerous, she had actually attacked him. He had hit her, the pain still a dull ache on the back of her neck, knocking her out.

She now sat in a strange room that no doubt was a hotel of some sort. Hotels, no matter where they were, always had this void of personalization that was impossible to miss for her. Perhaps it was because as she was shifted through foster homes, she had always felt what it was like to be in a ‘transition’ room. Rooms that would never get lived in beyond a few weeks.

She brushed the itchy blankets off of her and ran to the thick curtains, yanking them apart. She was stunned at what she saw. This was not the town next to the rehab center. It was much…much…bigger! Where the hell was she?

The door to the room opened and Renee whirled around to see Steve balancing a tray with drinks and a bag of take out food. His blonde hair, which had always been kept military professional, had grown out to sweep over his brows and his face was covered in a dark beard. He blinked those blue eyes at her for a moment before a relieved smile blossomed on his face. He quickly sat down the food on the dresser and nearly flew to embrace her.

Renee was not feeling any warm and fuzzy feelings. She felt dread. “What did you do to Baaul, Steve?”

Steve pulled back, looking down at her, almost offended. He scoffed. “It’s wonderful to see you too Renee.”

“Don’t fuck with me Steve! Not about this! Did you kill him?”

Steve was flabbergasted at her reaction. He shook his head and turned his back to her, needing to do something with this confusion that he felt. “The fucking alien that was in the middle of kidnapping you? No. But I should have! What the hell has he done to you?”

Renee ignored his questions to ask her own, “So you just left him there?”

Steve just stared at her for a moment. “Yes. Renee. I was a little too preoccupied-”

Renee cursed with feeling and made a B-line for the door, but Steve yanked her back by her arm. She tried to jerk away from him but the man was far stronger than her. “I need to get as far from you as I can, Steve!”

“What the hell? You’re not going anywhere-”

Renee whirled back to face him and it was her fear that really got him to stop anything else he was going to say. “Steve, you don’t understand! I had been trying to save you from him! When he wiped out your team! He was going to let you live but now that you’ve taken me from him nothing will stop him from killing you if we are together!”

Steve shook his head, that masculine bravado that all men seemed to get when they were told they were no match for another male. “I can protect you from him, Renee-”

Renee groaned with feeling and jerked away from him, this time succeeding in removing her arm from his grip. “Baaul will not hurt me, Steve! It’s YOU that he will hurt!”

“Why!?” Steve snapped, finally frustrated.

“Because he loves me, Steve!” Renee snapped back. She wasn’t sure if Baaul actually loved her, but it was the easiest way to describe their relationship, especially when she wasn’t 100% sure of their relationship herself.

Steve blinked and then he laughed. Renee frowned at the reaction and it grew to anger as Steve’s laughter became an uncontrollable wave that left tears falling down his face. It was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. An alien monster falling in love with her? For what? Why? Why HER? He expressed as much.

Renee rolled her eyes and turned on her heel to make her way toward the door. “Fuck off, Steve!” If he was too damn macho and arrogant to see that she was protecting him, then he wasn’t the friend that she thought he was. Still, she didn’t want him to die just because he was dumb.

Steve caught her before she could even touch the doorknob. In a simple, whirlwind motion, Renee found herself facedown on the cheat carpet that smelled like dirty shampoo water with her wrists cuffed behind her back. He ignored her curses with a sigh. “Renee, even if what you say is true, do you really think I can let you walk off when you’re supposed to be in custody?”

“Are you FUCKING kidding me right now, Steve? You saw what happened to the damn building yourself! And not to mention that Baaul is going to FUCKING KILL YOU!” She wriggled under his weight, but he was too heavy.

“Yeah, well, he has to find us first. Which I doubt he will unless your alien boyfriend can track cash purchases.” Steve lifted her up to her knees.

Renee’s anger had boiled over at his mocking tone. She used every ounce of strength in her legs to slam her back into Steve’s chest. The satisfying ‘oof’ that came out of him when she knocked the wind out of him had been worth the blazing ache that she got in return. Steve’s back slammed against the door, effectively blocking her only exit which pissed her off. Not that she would have gotten far while handcuffed anyway. “Baaul is a hunter, Steve! It’s what he does! He tracks and kills things far bigger and badder than you can even imagine! It will be NOTHING for him to track us down and he WILL find us! You saw what he did to the group you were with! What the hell makes you think that you, alone, can do against him to stop him? I don’t want to watch you die, Steve. Please don’t make me watch you die…”

The anger left her as she thought about the realization that Baaul was going to kill him. The stubborn look on Steve’s angry face was enough for her to know that he was wasting his life trying to ‘save’ her when she didn’t need saving.

Then Steve stood up, his breathing deep and controlled like a bull readying to charge. Renee felt fear and she took a step back for every step he took toward her. The growl that left him was something she had never heard from him before. “Don’t you EVER do something like that again, Renee.”

Renee’s knees hit the bed, and she flopped back. The fall made her vision dot with stars as she landed awkwardly on her elbow. Nothing was broken, but fuck had it hurt! When she looked up to see Steve towering over her, for the first time in their friendship, she wondered if he was going to hurt her and she was scared of him. That look in his eyes was absolutely feral and he held her gaze for what seemed like a lifetime before he finally reached for her.

Renee screamed and tried to wiggle away from him, but he managed to roll her onto her stomach just as she heard the sound of chains. She heard clicking as her cuffs were pulled upward a little and then a second clicking. Steve then turned and stormed out of the room, slamming it shut behind him. It took her a second to realize that he had used chain cuffs to secure the ones she already wore to the iron frame bed.

She screamed in frustration. “STEVE! YOU’RE SUCH A FUCKING IDIOT!”

She got no response.

***AUTHORS NOTE***

Sorry for the delay. I got caught up in Hazbin Hotel and had to obsessively rewatch Helluva Boss. Next chapter is what you horn dogs have been waiting for.

***END AUTHORS NOTE***